US Secretely Placing Long-Term Hooks Into New Iraqi Gov (WSJ)

This is a couple of days old, so no longer LBN. But it was missed, and is very important.

It's from the front page of the WSJ which requires a subscription for online access. But read the excerpts below to get the main idea.

Behind the Scenes,
U.S. Tightens Grip
On Iraq's Future

Hand-Picked Proxies, Advisers
Will Be Given Key Roles
In Interim Government
Facing Friction Over the Army

By YOCHI J. DREAZEN and CHRISTOPHER COOPER
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

May 13, 2004; Page A1

...
As Washington prepares to hand over power, U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer and other officials are quietly building institutions that will give the U.S. powerful levers for influencing nearly every important decision the interim government will make.

In a series of edicts issued earlier this spring, Mr. Bremer's Coalition Provisional Authority created new commissions that effectively take away virtually all of the powers once held by several ministries. The CPA also established an important new security-adviser position, which will be in charge of training and organizing Iraq's new army and paramilitary forces, and put in place a pair of watchdog institutions that will serve as checks on individual ministries and allow for continued U.S. oversight. Meanwhile, the CPA reiterated that coalition advisers will remain in virtually all remaining ministries after the handover.
...

In many cases, these U.S. and Iraqi proxies will serve multiyear terms and have significant authority to run criminal investigations, award contracts, direct troops and subpoena citizens. The new Iraqi government will have little control over its armed forces, lack the ability to make or change laws and be unable to make major decisions within specific ministries without tacit U.S. approval, say U.S. officials and others familiar with the plan.
...

It's unclear what powers the interim government, which will be set up by United Nations envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, will have. It will not control Iraq's security forces or military. In theory, it will have the ability to enforce and interpret laws on its own, though it will as of now lack the ability to write new ones or make large changes to them. One thing is clear: The government's actions are likely to be heavily influenced by dozens of U.S. and Iraqi appointees at virtually all levels.

<snip>

http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB108439973419309908-email,00.html

trying to impose that system on the Iraq's ?

Do they think that they can't tell the difference between the word 'Sovereignty' and the reality ?

I think the policy will itself be Dead On Arrival or rather shortly thereafter.

It's truly amazing that the only place you read about this is in the WSJ, which often practices excellent journalism despite the whackos on the editorial board. While the Bushistas complain about the news "filter," without the help of the media they would be gone.

None of it is going to last over 3 months, unless those who are going to overthrow it decide to wait until November so Bush can get elected because they can sap a hell of a lot of more money out of him as he continues to try to make himself look good.

And those Ritious Christians that have slipped in there to save those poor Mulslems (spelling is mine) from hell, better haul ass about June 29.

gains it's own power it's going to do away with everything the CPA set up.

...except the US government (Import/Export Bank, to be specific).

So when a legitimate Iraqi government finally takes over and nullifies all these contracts, guess who's left holding the bag to pay all these carpetbaggers off?

The US taxpayer, of course.

:kick:

That's what I'd love an investigative report like this to focus on. Unfortunately those arrangements are top, top secret I'm sure. No sense they should let us citizens in on their subterfuge.